The Washington Post published a new report on the situation in Ukraine, which claims that Russia continues to actively advance in the Donbas, seizing new territories. This offensive, as the newspaper notes, became possible due to two main factors: depletion of Ukraine's resources and political upheaval in the United States.
Russian troops are actively advancing towards the city of Pokrovska in Donbas. This offensive was made possible by the fact that Ukraine still faces a shortage of soldiers, and political instability in the United States gives rise to theories that Kyiv will soon be forced to negotiate a surrender of territories.
Regular deliveries of American weapons in May helped Ukraine repel the Russian attack on the Kharkiv region. This dashed Moscow's hopes of encircling Ukraine's second largest city. After that, the Russian command shifted its attention to the Donetsk region, which is perhaps Putin's top priority.
Oleksandr, a 30-year-old battalion commander of the 47th Brigade fighting near Ocheretyn, says that Ukrainian forces are having a hard time and that Putin's goal is becoming more and more achievable for Russia.
"This is a smart strategy: you try to concentrate the enemy's forces in one direction, and then distract them in another direction," said Oleksandr, who is known by the nickname "The Genius."
He explained: “Their first goal is to destroy us. The second is to push us back so that they [the Russian army] can gain more leverage in the peace negotiations and get more concessions from us. They have almost reached the point from which they will be able to seize Donetsk region."
Putin's army is currently advancing in three directions: from Chasvoy Yar, located west of the city of Bakhmut, which was captured by Russia in the spring of 2023; the small industrial city of Toretsk; and the village of Ocheretyne, which was captured by Russia in the spring of 2023. In May, Russian troops advanced to the northwest of Avdiivka, which they took in February.
